Chinese Takeout

When it comes to Chinese food in the United States, no restaurant is more iconic than Panda Express, who has over 1650 stores here.

How does it sound if you could make all the things you get at Panda Express for a fraction of the price, and even healthier as well?

Look no further, as I am going to share a series of popular and super easy Chinese recipes with you all.

Getting the Best Panda Express Copycat Recipe

Panda Express is famous for its Chow Mein and I am sharing the copycat recipe with you today. Everyone loves Chow Mein, greasy Chinese noodles tossed with lots of vegetables, stir-fried over very high heat in a wok.

Furthermore, to make sure that I do justice to the real deal, I recently went to Panda Express twice. I made sure to talk to the cook and drill down the recipe, and I got it down to a T.

Ingredients to Make this Copycat Recipe

• Noodles
• Onion
• Cabbage
• Celery
• Soy sauce
• Oyster sauce
• Oil

Tips for the Best Chow Mein

• A perfect chow mein should be loaded with lots of wok hei (breath of wok)—the ingredients should be flash cooked over high heat in a wok, so the noodles and vegetables are slightly burned and charred
• I am sure you have seen the cook at Panda Express tossing and cooking the noodles behind the counter, all done in a matter of minutes. To get good wok hei, you need lots of oil and a wok (but skillet will do).
• The chow mein should never be soggy or wet, and no water should be added during the cooking process.

See it for Yourself!

So, below is the real Panda Express on the left and my version on the right. The chow mein tastes exactly like Panda Express, the only difference is the noodles used.

Panda Express noodles are specially made for them only and not available at the stores. For the closest replacement, use yakisoba.

This is a super easy recipe to make at home and you can get all ingredients from regular stores. Make a big batch of Panda Express Chow Mein—it’s so good, so easy, healthier, cheaper, and you can have as much as you want!

How Many Calories Per Serving?

This recipe is only 362 calories per serving.

What Dishes To Serve with this Recipe?

For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.

Asian Beef Stew

Bok Choy Chicken

Beef and Broccoli

Shrimp Omelette

Yield: 2 people

Panda Express Chow Mein Copycat

Print

Panda Express Chow Mein - the BEST copycat recipe ever that tastes EXACTLY like Panda Express. So good, so easy, healthier, cheaper, and takes 15 mins!!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb. (400 g) packaged yakisoba
• 3-4 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
• 8 oz. (226 g) cabbage, sliced
• 2 oz. (56 g) celery, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce

Instructions

1. Discard the seasoning packages of the yakisoba noodles. Loosen up the yakisoba and set aside.
2. Heat up a wok or skillet over high heat, add the oil when it's heated. Add the onion, cabbage, and celery into the wok, stir fry and toss continously until the vegetables become soft and some of them are sligthly charred. Add in the noodles and stir a few times before adding the soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir continuously to combine all the ingredients in the wok. Dish out and serve immediately.

Notes

You can also use Chinese chow mein or egg noodles. Follow the cooking instructions on the packaging before stir-frying.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size

2 people
Amount Per Serving Calories 362Total Fat 22.1gSaturated Fat 2.9gCholesterol 5mgSodium 1732mgCarbohydrates 36.5gFiber 5.5gSugar 8.4gProtein 6.5g